A talking ball of foam brings presidential politics to their logical conclusion

Tea Party types have spent the last few months searching for just the right Republican presidential candidate who isn’t Mitt Romney. And now, G.O.P. muckety-mucks are searching for any viable candidate who isn’t Newt Gingrich. Nevada turquoise farmer Marvin E. Quasniki may be the answer for both camps, as he is neither Mitt Romney nor Newt Gingrich. Also, he’s a puppet.

A product of the “what the hell, let’s try this” division of the Jim Henson Company, Marvin For President is a joke campaign in the tradition of Pat Paulsen and Stephen Colbert, with a bit less pointed commentary and more silliness. The core of Marvin’s “Go Go Go” platform is his philosophy that “the American people want a word three times.” Marvin has an amusing Twitter feed and a Facebook page, because you are no longer allowed to exist without those things, even if you are a fictional character. (ESPECIALLY if you’re a fictional character.) The highlights of the campaign, though, are the videos, especially the most recent one, which chronicles Marvin’s appearance in one of those rare televised Republican debates.